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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27826813">What If's are Useless</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/momentofchaos/pseuds/momentofchaos'>momentofchaos</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>DousyWeek2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, Close call, F/M, Fluff and Angst, I Don't Even Know, Injury, concussion, fighting aliens</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:08:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,608</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27826813</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/momentofchaos/pseuds/momentofchaos</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Typical. A bog standard mission, collect and sign the peace agreement, pay respects to the monarchy leaders and leave. Three steps. How the hell had it gone sideways so quickly. To be fair, it wasn’t their fault. </p><p>Prompt: Day 1 - Close Calls || New Horizons</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>DousyWeek2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2024833</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>What If's are Useless</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Okay, so this is late, but I needed to have a full series 😂</p><p>I also kind of hate this, and might delete it or redo it at some point.</p><p>I'm gonna be really busy for the next few weeks, but I will have updates for other fics at some point!</p><p>Hope you enjoy whatever this is!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Typical. A bog standard mission, collect and sign the peace agreement, pay respects to the monarchy leaders and leave. Three steps. How the hell had it gone sideways so quickly. To be fair, it wasn’t their fault. An ambush of rebels set of explosions in the temple type structure on the western hemisphere and it all fell apart quickly after that, the military immediately flooding in and taking the visitors into custody. A look from Daniel told Daisy to not fight them, the entire quadrant was relying on this peace agreement, they had to keep it as civil as possible. Johnson retook her status as leader, ordering the small team she had with her to stand down and not resist. Kora was on the comms from the cloaked Quinjet, updating them quietly about the situation. Booth and Barragan fell into step with Johnson and Sousa as they were led to their version of holding cells, which turned out to be some cave type structure.</p><p> </p><p>They stood discussing their options quietly, under the careful watch of the guards. It seemed calm, Kora letting them know that the fire had been put out and they seemed to be regathering in the temple. And then another explosion hit, shaking the cave as dust rained down on them. The guards immediately started shouting in their native tongue and before they knew it there were multiple guards entering the cell with weapons aimed at them.</p><p> </p><p>“Woah, woah, we can talk about this!” Daisy said, her hands held up in surrender. Apparently, they weren’t in the mood to talk as they grabbed Barragan and Sousa roughly, beginning to drag them out of the cell. Booth jumped forward in a bid to help but another guard aimed a shot at him and then held the gun to Sousa’s head. The shot didn’t land on Booth, but the man fell to the floor as he dodged the blast. Daisy had to remain calm, but then the ugly alien punched Daniel in the stomach, and she saw red.</p><p> </p><p>“Hit the deck.” She shouted and her agents threw themselves on the floor, a practiced manoeuvre, as she let out a wave of concentrated vibrations, knocking the four guards on their asses. Barragan scrambled quicker than Sousa, who was still reeling from the hit he took to the gut. She tossed Booth a pistol from the holster of an unconscious alien, before the two of them looked to Daisy for confirmation.</p><p> </p><p>“Icers are in that locker.” She commanded, blasting the door of its hinges and Barragan headed to grab their belongings as Booth provided cover. “Sousa, you alright?” She offered him a hand to stand up from where he had rested against the rough cave wall.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t think I’ve been punched like that since Thompson in the desert.” He huffed, catching the breath that had been knocked out of him.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re gonna tell me that story when we get out of here.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure thing, Quake.” He teased, as Booth shouted out.</p><p> </p><p>“We’ve got company.” He tossed Sousa an icer and nodded to Daisy.</p><p> </p><p>“Kora, we could really do with a swift exit right now.” She muttered into comms, as she and Daniel took cover behind a crate across from Barragan and Booth.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m trying but you’re deeper in the cave structure than expected, I can’t get direct access in the Quinjet.” Came the hurried answer, Kora was panicking.</p><p> </p><p>“Kora, breathe. We’ve got this. You keep working that out, we’ll defend ourselves here.” Daisy had really settled into the command role, and her tone was level as she evaluated their situation.</p><p> </p><p>But sometimes that wasn’t enough. They were under a non-lethal force objective, but it soon became clear they were outmanned and outgunned. The entrance to the cells acted as bottle neck but the streams of armed aliens never seemed to stop. Stuck in a dead end of an alien prison, it wasn’t looking good as shots rained down on them. Daisy quaked most of them, and they finally were able to make their way out of the prison section. Then it really hit the fan.</p><p> </p><p>The corridors became clear, and as their formation rounded the corner, they found out why. Face to face with a huge cannon like weapon, they all dove for immediate cover as it hummed into life. Booth managed to drag Barragan back round the corner, out of the way but the sonic blast caught both Daisy and Sousa in its wake. The two of them were thrown against a wall and remained unresponsive to their teammates.</p><p> </p><p>Daisy’s blinked her eyes open, to the sound of distant gun fire and somewhat familiar shouts although everything sounded so very far away. Through hazy vision, she noticed her partner lying a few feet from her, unnaturally still. She attempted to move towards him, reaching out to grasp the hand that laid at his side, his pistol a few feet away, but her bones felt like lead and she couldn’t find the strength to lift her head from the floor. She let her head fall to her left hand side, and her eyes focussed on Booth and Barragan firing at the aliens. They both turned periodically to look at their mostly unconscious commander, and their faces moved as if they were yelling, but Daisy could barely hear them. Her vision began fading, the darkness creeping into the side of her vision as the ringing in her ears got louder.</p><p> </p><p>A bright flash of light and a breeze washed over Daisy as she let her eyes shut, having no option but succumb to her body’s condition.</p><hr/><p>The familiar hum of the Zephyr engine was the first thing she noticed, when she came too. It was comforting, the normal sound she heard every morning as she awoke. And then realisation hit, and her eyes snapped open. She attempted to sit up only to find she was in one of the healing pods again and smacked her face against the glass in her panic, sending a shock of pain across her head.</p><p> </p><p>“Woah there, sis, you’re fine.” Kora said, coming into view from one side of the pod, and hitting the button to remove the barrier that was preventing her sister from escaping. “I know you hate being in these, but it was necessary for the two of you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Where’s Daniel?” Daisy almost demanded, before the glass had finished lifting from the base.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s right over there, but Daisy-“ Kora began to explain, but her sister was striding to the other pod before she could stop her. Upon seeing him Daisy let out a gasp. His face was bruised and swollen on one side and the skin above his eyebrow had split, where a faint old scar had been. She surveyed the rest of his body, the prosthetic was still on and looked no worse for wear but both arms were bruised black and blue. He was wearing some SHIELD sweats, and she noticed at that time she was too. “Booth said he took the brunt of the blast and hit the wall first, cushioned some of the blow for you. You were in and out of it for a while, woke up briefly after I bust through the wall to get you out. Sousa hasn’t woken up yet, but he’s stable and Aldrin says it’s just a matter of time, his concussion is a little worse than yours. He’ll be fine, although even Booth looked a little panicked at his condition when we got back.” Daisy was half-listening to Kora, taking it all in but her eyes rested firmly on Sousa’s face.</p><p> </p><p>Over the past couple of years, when Daisy had been awake and him asleep, which didn’t happen often as she was always able to nap or sleep in any scenario, she taken to just watching him. Asleep, he looked years younger than he was, the stress lines and often furrowed brow relaxed, and he looked at peace. But right now, she willed him to wake up, to open his eyes, to let her know he was alright.</p><p> </p><p>“Barragan and Booth are okay?” She asked Kora quietly.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, bit tired, a couple of bruises, but they’re okay. Aldrin is trying to save whatever Sly attempted to make for dinner.” Kora replied. “I assume you’re gonna go all DaisySousa on us and stay by him till he wakes up?” Daisy smirked. “What? It’s not like Fitzsimmons. What do you want us to call you two? Dousy? Sousy? Danisy?” Kora knew the reaction she was getting out of her sister, over the past few years they really had learnt about each other and bonded better than either of them thought would be possible.</p><p> </p><p>“Fair enough,” Daisy muttered, her eyes still not straying from the tube.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m going to bring you something to eat, and check on the flight path, okay? I assumed you would just want us to get out of there ASAP.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, you’re right. Contact Carol as well, you can use my tablet, she’s going to have to help us save our asses on that one.” Daisy said, her mind shifting back into leader mode.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, Carol. Yeah, I can do that. Just email The Captain Marvel, this is fine.” Kora said turning to leave. “I’ll be back with dinner.”</p><p> </p><p>“Kora?” Daisy called after her sister. “You saved us all today, thank you. The way you took charge. I’m proud of you, as an agent and sister.” Kora nodded and smiled at the compliment before leaving the room.</p><p> </p><p>Daisy dragged the chair from the corner of the room and rested it besides Daniel’s bedside. Her head wasn’t throbbing anymore, but her back ached as if she’d slept on the ground for too long. Or been blasted into a wall by an alien cannon. Leaning forward to rest her arms on the side of the pod, she let her head rest there comfortably.</p><p> </p><p>She must have nodded off, as the vibrations of Daniel’s heartbeat sped up startling her. In the first few months of their relationship, Daisy hadn’t told him that her powers were sensitive enough to feel heartbeats of anyone in the vicinity, but as they got closer and after a nightmare one night, she found tuning in to the steady beat of his heart to be comforting and grounding to her. Most nights she fell asleep with her head resting on his chest, just listening to it, like a vibrational white noise machine. But when it suddenly sped up like this, out of the blue, it told her that Sousa was either suffering from his own nightmare or was about to startle awake.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes automatically focussed on him, as she stood up, she pushed the chair out of the way with her legs. His chest was rising and falling at a quickened pace, and his eyes shot open.</p><p> </p><p>“Daniel. Daniel. You’re fine, I’m here. Don’t sit up. Just stay there.” Daisy urged, trying to stop her voice from cracking as she saw him panicking slightly, his eyes wide. At the sound of her voice, he met her eyes and relaxed a little. “You’re in the healing pod, you’ve got a concussion and you’re all bruised up.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh joy. I feel like I was almost sucked into a rift again.” He muttered, closing his eyes as he shifted slightly, before she watched his eyes flutter open again, finding her immediately. “Shit, are you okay? What about Booth and Barragan?”</p><p> </p><p>“They’re fine, I’m a bit banged up, but I’ll be okay. Apparently, you took the brunt of our fall.” She smirked slightly when he got a small proud smile on his face, which quickly shifted to a grimace of pain. “Sorry, do you need some painkillers?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nah, I’ll be fine, I can tough out a few bruises.” He said, not convincing Daisy in the slightest, but she wouldn’t push it on him. A few moments of silence passed, before the thoughts swirling in Daisy’s head came spilling out of her mouth.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m so sorry, this is all my fault.” It came out as a half sob, which caused Daniel to look at her alarmed.</p><p> </p><p>“What? Dais- where’s this coming from? You didn’t shoot me with a sonic cannon.” He longed to reach out and hold her, but he was trapped in a tube and couldn’t get to her.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah- but if I had realised and quaked it instead of turning and taking cover, you wouldn’t be in this situation. Or if I wasn’t Quake, with this big reputation for breaking things, the rebels may not have tried to intervene in the peace proceedings. Maybe if I had just-“ she was talking too fast, rambling that Daniel had to stop her.</p><p> </p><p>“Daisy. Daisy! This wasn’t your fault, it was the rebels that set of the bombs, and the guards that hit out at us first. You didn’t fire the canon. We can spend our entire lives trying to go into ‘What If’s’ but it’s useless. I don’t blame you. Booth and Barragan won’t blame you either.” She sniffed slightly, trying to not let the tears in her eyes spill out, wholly unsuccessful as she felt the warm droplets begin to flow down her cheeks. He needed to hold her, touch her in some way, try to offer the comfort that she clearly needed. Thankfully, Kora wandered in at that very moment.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, look Sleeping Beauty decided to wake up. How you feeling Danny Boy?”  The younger sister said cheerily, clearly not reading the room.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m fine, can I get out of this thing yet?” Daniel said, almost fake smiling at Kora, who was confused about the uncharacteristic impatience. She looked to Daisy who had wandered a little further away, with her back to them both, silent in the proceedings.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay… yeah Aldrin just told me that you can get up once you were awake, but you’ll need a few more hours in there later on.” She said, tapping away on the panel until the familiar hiss of the hydraulics lifted the tube. Before it was fully raised, Sousa was wriggling out and onto his feet. In one stride, he was beside Daisy and wrapped his bruised arms around her tightly, her head coming to rest in the crook of his neck as she held him close. Kora watched as Daniel muttered in her sister’s ear swaying them both slightly as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Normally the sight of the two of them being romantic or cute made Kora uncomfortable, or she’d make sarcastic comments or retching sounds. But she’d not seen Daisy like this in a long time, if ever to be fair, not since they’d known each other. Her sister was quiet and still, clearly upset and worried.</p><p> </p><p>Deciding to leave the two of them to it, she retrieved the mostly untouched dinner tray that she’d left out for Daisy and moved to exit the med bay.</p><p> </p><p>“Not that I mind being the hero and saving the day, but if we can keep the need for my dramatic entrances to a minimum, I’d appreciate it.” She threw over her shoulder, allowing herself one sarcastic comment. Daisy’s head turned, still resting on Daniel’s shoulder, but she could see the small smile on her face despite her now tear-stained cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry Ko, I’ll be the one with the dramatic entrances for the next few missions.”</p><p> </p><p>Daniel chuckled at that one too, and Kora shot one glance back  as she walked away to see him press a sweet kiss to Daisy’s forehead, as she wiped her eyes, smiling at him. Those two were something else.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You got this far? Thanks for reading! 💛</p></blockquote></div></div>
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